System and Method for Receiving I and Q RF Signals without a Phase Shifter

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for receiving in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) radio frequency (RF) signals without a phase shifter utilizing a leaky wave antenna are disclosed and may include generating in-phase and quadrature signals using a leaky wave antenna coupled to one or more low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) on a chip and without a phase shifter. The RE I and Q signals may be communicated from the single leaky wave antenna using coplanar feed points and/or feed points on a top surface and a bottom surface of the single leaky wave antenna. The leaky wave antennas may be integrated on the chip, on a package to which the chip is affixed, and/or on a printed circuit board to which the chip is affixed. The RF I and Q signals may be amplified by the one or more LNAs and may down-convert the RF I and Q signals to baseband signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/246,618 filed on Sep. 29, 2009, andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/185,245 filed on Jun. 9, 2009.

This application also makes reference to:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21181US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21205US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21214US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21227US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21230US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21231US02) filed on even date herewith;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21232US02) filed on even date herewith; and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.    21233US02) filed on even date herewith.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communication.More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to amethod and system for receiving I and Q RF signals without a phaseshifter utilizing a leaky wave antenna.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile communications have changed the way people communicate and mobilephones have been transformed from a luxury item to an essential part ofevery day life. The use of mobile phones is today dictated by socialsituations, rather than hampered by location or technology. While voiceconnections fulfill the basic need to communicate, and mobile voiceconnections continue to filter even further into the fabric of every daylife, the mobile Internet is the next step in the mobile communicationrevolution. The mobile Internet is poised to become a common source ofeveryday information, and easy, versatile mobile access to this datawill be taken for granted.

As the number of electronic devices enabled for wireline and/or mobilecommunications continues to increase, significant efforts exist withregard to making such devices more power efficient. For example, a largepercentage of communications devices are mobile wireless devices andthus often operate on battery power. Additionally, transmit and/orreceive circuitry within such mobile wireless devices often account fora significant portion of the power consumed within these devices.Moreover, in some conventional communication systems, transmittersand/or receivers are often power inefficient in comparison to otherblocks of the portable communication devices. Accordingly, thesetransmitters and/or receivers have a significant impact on battery lifefor these mobile wireless devices.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth inthe remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method for receiving I and Q RF signals without a phaseshifter utilizing a leaky wave antenna, substantially as shown in and/ordescribed in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forthmore completely in the claims.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention,as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be morefully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless system utilizingleaky wave antennas for receiving I and Q signals, which may be utilizedin accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary leaky wave antenna,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a plan view of exemplarypartially reflective surfaces, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary phase dependence ofa leaky wave antenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary in-phase andout-of-phase beam shapes for a leaky wave antenna, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a leaky wave antenna withvariable phase feed points, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an I and Q receiver utilizing a leaky waveantenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary steps for receiving Iand Q signals without a phase shifter, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain aspects of the invention may be found in a method and system forreceiving I and Q RF signals without a phase shifter utilizing a leakywave antenna. Exemplary aspects of the invention may comprise generatingradio frequency (RF) in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) signals using asingle leaky wave antenna coupled to one or more low-noise amplifiers(LNAs) on a chip and without a phase shifter. The RF I and Q signals maybe communicated from the single leaky wave antenna using coplanar feedpoints. The RF I and Q signals may be communicated from the single leakywave antenna using feed points on a top surface and a bottom surface ofthe single leaky wave antenna. The one or more leaky wave antennas maybe integrated on the chip, on a package to which the chip is affixed,and/or on a printed circuit board to which the chip is affixed. The RF Iand Q signals may be amplified by the one or more low-noise amplifiersand may be down-converted to baseband signals or intermediate frequency(IF) signals. The baseband signals may be filtered.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless system utilizingleaky wave antennas for receiving I and Q signals, which may be utilizedin accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1,the wireless device 150 may comprise an antenna 151, a transceiver 152,a baseband processor 154, a processor 156, a system memory 158, a logicblock 160, a chip 162, leaky wave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C, anexternal headset port 166, and a package 167. The wireless device 150may also comprise an analog microphone 168, integrated hands-free (IHF)stereo speakers 170, a printed circuit board 171, a hearing aidcompatible (HAC) coil 174, a dual digital microphone 176, a vibrationtransducer 178, a keypad and/or touchscreen 180, and a display 182.

The transceiver 152 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interface(s), and/or code that may be enabled to modulate and upconvertbaseband signals to RF signals for transmission by one or more antennas,which may be represented generically by the antenna 151. The transceiver152 may also be enabled to downconvert and demodulate received RFsignals to baseband signals. The RF signals may be received by one ormore antennas, which may be represented generically by the antenna 151,or the leaky wave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C. Different wirelesssystems may use different antennas for transmission and reception. Thetransceiver 152 may be enabled to execute other functions, for example,filtering the baseband and/or RF signals, and/or amplifying the basebandand/or RF signals. Although a single transceiver 152 is shown, theinvention is not so limited. Accordingly, the transceiver 152 may beimplemented as a separate transmitter and a separate receiver. Inaddition, there may be a plurality of transceivers, transmitters and/orreceivers. In this regard, the plurality of transceivers, transmittersand/or receivers may enable the wireless device 150 to handle aplurality of wireless protocols and/or standards including cellular,WLAN and PAN. Wireless technologies handled by the wireless device 150may comprise GSM, COMA, CDMA2000, WCDMA, GMS, GPRS, EDGE, WIMAX, WLAN,3GPP, UMTS, BLUETOOTH, and ZigBee, for example.

The baseband processor 154 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interface(s), and/or code that may be enabled to process basebandsignals for transmission via the transceiver 152 and/or the basebandsignals received from the transceiver 152. The processor 156 may be anysuitable processor or controller such as a CPU, DSP, ARM, or any type ofintegrated circuit processor. The processor 156 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, and/or code that may be enabled to control theoperations of the transceiver 152 and/or the baseband processor 154. Forexample, the processor 156 may be utilized to update and/or modifyprogrammable parameters and/or values in a plurality of components,devices, and/or processing elements in the transceiver 152 and/or thebaseband processor 154. At least a portion of the programmableparameters may be stored in the system memory 158.

Control and/or data information, which may comprise the programmableparameters, may be transferred from other portions of the wirelessdevice 150, not shown in FIG. 1, to the processor 156. Similarly, theprocessor 156 may be enabled to transfer control and/or datainformation, which may include the programmable parameters, to otherportions of the wireless device 150, not shown in FIG. 1, which may bepart of the wireless device 150.

The processor 156 may utilize the received control and/or datainformation, which may comprise the programmable parameters, todetermine an operating mode of the transceiver 152. For example, theprocessor 156 may be utilized to select a specific frequency for a localoscillator, a specific gain for a variable gain amplifier, configure thelocal oscillator and/or configure the variable gain amplifier foroperation in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.Moreover, the specific frequency selected and/or parameters needed tocalculate the specific frequency, and/or the specific gain value and/orthe parameters, which may be utilized to calculate the specific gain,may be stored in the system memory 158 via the processor 156, forexample. The information stored in system memory 158 may be transferredto the transceiver 152 from the system memory 158 via the processor 156.

The system memory 158 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interface(s), and/or code that may be enabled to store a plurality ofcontrol and/or data information, including parameters needed tocalculate frequencies and/or gain, and/or the frequency value and/orgain value. The system memory 158 may store at least a portion of theprogrammable parameters that may be manipulated by the processor 156.

The logic block 160 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interface(s), and/or code that may enable controlling of variousfunctionalities of the wireless device 150. For example, the logic block160 may comprise one or more state machines that may generate signals tocontrol the transceiver 152 and/or the baseband processor 154. The logicblock 160 may also comprise registers that may hold data forcontrolling, for example, the transceiver 152 and/or the basebandprocessor 154. The logic block 160 may also generate and/or store statusinformation that may be read by, for example, the processor 156.Amplifier gains and/or filtering characteristics, for example, may becontrolled by the logic block 160.

The BT radio/processor 163 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interface(s), and/or code that may enable transmission and reception ofBluetooth signals. The BT radio/processor 163 may enable processingand/or handling of BT baseband signals. In this regard, the BTradio/processor 163 may process or handle BT signals received and/or BTsignals transmitted via a wireless communication medium. The BTradio/processor 163 may also provide control and/or feedback informationto/from the baseband processor 154 and/or the processor 156, based oninformation from the processed BT signals. The BT radio/processor 163may communicate information and/or data from the processed BT signals tothe processor 156 and/or to the system memory 158. Moreover, the BTradio/processor 163 may receive information from the processor 156and/or the system memory 158, which may be processed and transmitted viathe wireless communication medium a Bluetooth headset, for example

The CODEC 172 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interface(s),and/or code that may process audio signals received from and/orcommunicated to input/output devices. The input devices may be within orcommunicatively coupled to the wireless device 150, and may comprise theanalog microphone 168, the stereo speakers 170, the hearing aidcompatible (HAC) coil 174, the dual digital microphone 176, and thevibration transducer 178, for example. The CODEC 172 may be operable toup-convert and/or down-convert signal frequencies to desired frequenciesfor processing and/or transmission via an output device. The CODEC 172may enable utilizing a plurality of digital audio inputs, such as 16 or18-bit inputs, for example. The CODEC 172 may also enable utilizing aplurality of data sampling rate inputs. For example, the CODEC 172 mayaccept digital audio signals at sampling rates such as 8 kHz, 11.025kHz, 12 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 24 kHz, 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and/or 48 kHz.The CODEC 172 may also support mixing of a plurality of audio sources.For example, the CODEC 172 may support audio sources such as generalaudio, polyphonic ringer, I²S FM audio, vibration driving signals, andvoice. In this regard, the general audio and polyphonic ringer sourcesmay support the plurality of sampling rates that the audio CODEC 172 isenabled to accept, while the voice source may support a portion of theplurality of sampling rates, such as 8 kHz and 16 kHz, for example.

The chip 162 may comprise an integrated circuit with multiple functionalblocks integrated within, such as the transceiver 152, the processor156, the baseband processor 154, the BT radio/processor 163, the CODEC172, and the leaky wave antenna 164A. The number of functional blocksintegrated in the chip 162 is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 1.Accordingly, any number of blocks may be integrated on the chip 162depending on chip space and wireless device 150 requirements, forexample.

The leaky wave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C may comprise a resonantcavity with a highly reflective surface and a lower reflectivitysurface, and may be integrated in and/or on the chip 162, the package167, and/or the printed circuit board 171. The leaky wave antennas 164Aand 164B may comprise a plurality of feed points. The reducedreflectivity surface may allow the resonant mode to “leak” out of orinto the cavity. The lower reflectivity surface of the leaky waveantennas 164A, 1648, and 164C may be configured with slots in a metalsurface, or a pattern of metal patches, as described further in FIGS. 2and 3. The physical dimensions of the leaky wave antennas 164A, 164B,and 164C may be configured to optimize bandwidth of reception and/or thebeam pattern received. In another embodiment of the invention, the leakywave antenna 164B may be integrated on the package 167 and the leakywave antenna 164C may be integrated in and/or on the printed circuitboard 171 to which the chip 162 may be affixed. In this manner, thedimensions of the leaky wave antenna 164B and 164C may not be limited bythe size of the chip 162. By configuring the feed points on the leakywave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C at an appropriate distance apart,resulting in a 90 degree phase difference, I and Q signals may bereceived without the use of phase shifters.

The external headset port 166 may comprise a physical connection for anexternal headset to be communicatively coupled to the wireless device150. The analog microphone 168 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interface(s), and/or code that may detect sound waves and convert themto electrical signals via a piezoelectric effect, for example. Theelectrical signals generated by the analog microphone 168 may compriseanalog signals that may require analog to digital conversion beforeprocessing.

The package 167 may comprise a ceramic package, a printed circuit board,or other support structure for the chip 162 and other components of thewireless device 150. In this regard, the chip 162 may be bonded to thepackage 167. The package 167 may comprise insulating and conductivematerial, for example, and may provide isolation between electricalcomponents mounted on the package 167.

The stereo speakers 170 may comprise a pair of speakers that may beoperable to generate audio signals from electrical signals received fromthe CODEC 172. The HAC coil 174 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,and/or code that may enable communication between the wireless device150 and a T-coil in a hearing aid, for example. In this manner,electrical audio signals may be communicated to a user that utilizes ahearing aid, without the need for generating sound signals via aspeaker, such as the stereo speakers 170, and converting the generatedsound signals back to electrical signals in a hearing aid, andsubsequently back into amplified sound signals in the user's ear, forexample.

The dual digital microphone 176 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interface(s), and/or code that may be operable to detect sound waves andconvert them to electrical signals. The electrical signals generated bythe dual digital microphone 176 may comprise digital signals, and thusmay not require analog to digital conversion prior to digital processingin the CODEC 172. The dual digital microphone 176 may enable beamformingcapabilities, for example.

The vibration transducer 178 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interface(s), and/or code that may enable notification of an incomingcall, alerts and/or message to the wireless device 150 without the useof sound. The vibration transducer may generate vibrations that may bein synch with, for example, audio signals such as speech or music.

In operation, control and/or data information, which may comprise theprogrammable parameters, may be transferred from other portions of thewireless device 150, not shown in FIG. 1, to the processor 156.Similarly, the processor 156 may be enabled to transfer control and/ordata information, which may include the programmable parameters, toother portions of the wireless device 150, not shown in FIG. 1, whichmay be part of the wireless device 150.

The processor 156 may utilize the received control and/or datainformation, which may comprise the programmable parameters, todetermine an operating mode of the transceiver 152. For example, theprocessor 156 may be utilized to select a specific frequency for a localoscillator, a specific gain for a variable gain amplifier, configure thelocal oscillator and/or configure the variable gain amplifier foroperation in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.Moreover, the specific frequency selected and/or parameters needed tocalculate the specific frequency, and/or the specific gain value and/orthe parameters, which may be utilized to calculate the specific gain,may be stored in the system memory 158 via the processor 156, forexample. The information stored in system memory 158 may be transferredto the transceiver 152 from the system memory 158 via the processor 156.

The CODEC 172 in the wireless device 150 may communicate with theprocessor 156 in order to transfer audio data and control signals.Control registers for the CODEC 172 may reside within the processor 156.The processor 156 may exchange audio signals and control information viathe system memory 158. The CODEC 172 may up-convert and/or down-convertthe frequencies of multiple audio sources for processing at a desiredsampling rate.

Wireless signals may be transmitted and received by the leaky waveantennas 164A, 164B, and 164C. The receive beam pattern for the leakywave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C may be configured by adjusting thefrequency of the signal communicated to the leaky wave antennas 164A,164B, and 164C. Furthermore, the physical characteristics of the leakywave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C may be configured to adjust thebandwidth of the received signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, I and Q signals may be received bythe leaky wave antennas 164A, 164B, and 164C utilizing the feed pointsspaced at a distance from each other laterally that result in receivedsignals being 90 degrees out of phase. In another embodiment of theinvention, the feed points may be placed at the top surface and thebottom surface, thereby resulting in 90 degree phase shift received atthe feed points due to the λ/2 cavity height.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary leaky wave antenna,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2,there is shown the leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C/164C comprising apartially reflective surface 201A, a reflective surface 201B, and a feedpoint 203. The space between the partially reflective surface 201A andthe reflective surface 201B may be filled with dielectric material, forexample, and the height, h, between the partially reflective surface201A and the reflective surface 201B may be utilized to configure thefrequency of transmission and/or reception of the leaky wave antenna164A/164B/164C/164C.

The feed point 203 may comprise a input terminal for applying an inputvoltage to and/or receiving an output voltage from the leaky waveantenna 164A/164B/164C/164C. The invention is not limited to a singlefeed point 203, as there may be any amount of feed points for differentphases of signal, for example, to be applied to or received from theleaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C/164C.

In an embodiment of the invention, the height, h, may be one-half thewavelength of the transmitted mode from the leaky wave antenna164A/164B/164C. In this manner, the phase of an electromagnetic modethat traverses the cavity twice may be coherent with the signal receivedat the partially reflective surface 201A, thereby configuring a resonantcavity known as a Fabry-Perot cavity. The magnitude of the resonant modemay decay exponentially in the lateral direction from region under thefeatures in the partially reflective surface, shown in FIG. 3, therebyreducing or eliminating the need for confinement structures to the sidesof the leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C. The output impedance of theleaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C may be configured by the verticalplacement of the feed point 203, as described further in FIG. 6.

In operation, an RF signal may be received by the leaky wave antenna164A/164B/164C. The cavity height, h, may be configured to correlate toone half the wavelength of the signal of frequency f. The signal maytraverse the height of the cavity and may be reflected by the reflectivesurface 201B, and then traverse the height back to the partiallyreflective surface 201A. Since the wave will have travelled a distancecorresponding to a full wavelength, constructive interference may resultand a resonant mode may thereby be established.

Leaky wave antennas may enable the configuration of high gain antennaswithout the need for a large array of antennas which require a complexfeed network and suffer from loss due to feed lines. The leaky waveantenna 164A/164B/164C may be integrated on or in a chip, package, orprinted circuit board. The leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C maycomprise receive antenna for I and Q signals. The output impedance ofthe leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C may be configured to match theinput impedance of devices coupled to the feed points. In this manner,matching circuit requirements may be reduced or eliminated.

The beam shape of the received signal may comprise a narrow verticalbeam when the frequency of the signal received at the partiallyreflective surface 201A matches the resonant frequency of the cavity. Ininstances where the frequency shifts from the center frequency, thereceived signal beam shape may become conical, with nodes at an anglefrom vertical. This is described further with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In an embodiment of the invention, I and Q signals may be received bythe leaky wave antennas 164A, 1648, and 164C utilizing feed pointsspaced at a distance from each other laterally that result in receivedsignals being 90 degrees out of phase. In another embodiment of theinvention, feed points may be placed at the top surface and the bottomsurface, thereby resulting in 90 degree phase shift received at the feedpoints due to the λ/2 cavity height.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a plan view of exemplarypartially reflective surfaces, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a partially reflectivesurface 300 comprising periodic slots in a metal surface, and apartially reflective surface 320 comprising periodic metal patches. Thepartially reflective surfaces 300/320 may comprise different embodimentsof the partially reflective surface 201A described with respect to FIG.2.

The spacing, dimensions, shape, and orientation of the slots and/orpatches in the partially reflective surfaces 300/320 may be utilized toconfigure the bandwidth, and thus Q-factor, of the resonant cavitydefined by the partially reflective surfaces 300/320 and a reflectivesurface, such as the reflective surface 201B, described with respect toFIG. 2. The partially reflective surfaces 300/320 may thus comprisefrequency selective surfaces due to the narrow bandwidth of signals thatmay leak out of the structure as configured by the slots and/or patches.

The spacing between the patches and/or slots may be related towavelength of the signal transmitted and/or received, which may besomewhat similar to beamforming with multiple antennas. The length ofthe slots and/or patches may be several times larger than the wavelengthof the transmitted and/or received signal or less, for example, sincethe leakage from the slots and/or regions surround the patches may addup, similar to beamforming with multiple antennas.

In an embodiment of the invention, the slots/patches may be configuredvia micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) switches to tune the Q of theresonant cavity.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary phase dependence ofa leaky wave antenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a leaky wave antenna comprising thepartial reflective surface 201A, the reflective surface 201B, and thefeed point 203. In-phase condition 400 illustrates the relative beamshape transmitted and/or received by the leaky wave antenna164A/164B/164C when the frequency of the signal received matches that ofthe resonant cavity as defined by the cavity height, h, and thedielectric constant of the material between the reflective surfaces.

Similarly, out-of-phase condition 420 illustrates the relative beamshape transmitted and/or received by the leaky wave antenna164A/164B/164C when the frequency of the signal received at thepartially reflective surface 201A does not match that of the resonantcavity. The resulting beam shape may be conical, as opposed to a singlemain vertical node. These are illustrated further with respect to FIG.5.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary in-phase andout-of-phase beam shapes for a leaky wave antenna, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a plot500 of transmitted/received signal beam shape versus angle for thein-phase and out-of-phase conditions for a leaky wave antenna.

The In-phase curve in the plot 500 may correlate to the case where thefrequency of the signal communicated to a leaky wave antenna matches theresonant frequency of the cavity. In this manner, a single vertical mainnode may result. In instances where the frequency of the signal receivedis not at the resonant frequency, a double, or conical-shaped node maybe generated as shown by the Out-of-phase curve in the plot 500.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a leaky wave antenna withvariable phase feed points, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a leaky wave antenna 600comprising the partially reflective surface 201A and the reflectivesurface 201B. There is also shown feed points 601A-601D. The feed points601A-601D may be located at different positions along the bottom surfaceof the cavity and on the top of the cavity thereby configuring differentphase points for the leaky wave antenna.

For example, the feed points 601A and 601B may be separated by adistance that results in a 90 degree phase shift between receivedsignals. Similarly, the feed points 601C and 601D may be separated by a90 degree phase difference due to the λ/2 cavity height h. In thismanner, a leaky wave antenna may be operable to receive I and Q signalswithout the need for a phase shifter. In various embodiments of theinvention, the feed points may be separated by different positions so asto provide a plurality of different phases and phase differences.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an I and Q receiver utilizing a leaky waveantenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 7, there is shown an I and Q receiver (Rx) 700 comprising a leakywave antenna 701, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 703A and 703B, mixers 705Aand 705B, low-pass filters (LPFs) 707A and 707B, an analog to digitalconverter (ADC) 709, and the baseband processor 154.

The leaky wave antenna 701 may be substantially similar to leaky waveantennas 164A/164B/164C/600. The LNAs 703A and 703B may comprisesuitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operableto amplify received signals. Specifically, the LNAs 703A and 703B mayamplify received I and Q signals to be communicated to the mixers 705Aand 705B.

The mixers 705A and 705B may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to down-convert received Iand Q signals to baseband or intermediate frequency (IF). The mixers705A and 705B may utilize a received local oscillator (LO) signal, suchas from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) or other source, todown-convert the received I and Q signals, thereby generating sum anddifference signals.

The LPFs 707A and 7078 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to filter out higherfrequency signals while allowing lower frequency signals to pass. Theoutputs of the LPFs 707A and 707B may be communicatively coupled to theADC 709.

The ADC 709 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/orcode that may be operable to convert received analog signals to digitalsignals for processing by the baseband processor 154. The ADC 709 may beoperable to receive more than two signals for conversion.

In operation, the leaky wave antenna 701 may be operable to receive bothand Q signals without the need for a phase shifter. The I and Q signalsmay be communicated to the LNAs 703A and 703B, which may amplify thereceived signals before communicating the amplified signals to themixers 705A and 705B. The gain of the LNAs 703A and 703B may beconfigured by the baseband processor 154 or the processor 156, dependingon the strength of the received signals.

The mixers 705A and 7053 may down-convert the amplified I and Q signalsutilizing the LO signal, thereby generating sum and difference signalsthat may be communicated to the LPFs 707A and 707B. In this manner, thesum signals generated by the mixers 705A and 705B may be filtered outwhile the difference, or baseband, signals may be communicated to theADC 709.

The ADC 709 may convert the filtered I and Q signals to digital signalsand communicate these converted signals to the baseband processor 154for further processing.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary steps for receiving Iand Q signals without a phase shifter, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, in step 803 after start step 801,the leaky wave antenna may be configured to receive I and Q signalsthrough feed points with 90 degree phase points. In step 805, thereceived signals may be amplified by LNAs, followed by step 807 wherethe amplified I and Q signals may be down-converted to baseband,filtered, and analog-to-digital converted before being communicated tothe baseband processor. If, in step 809, the wireless device 150 is tobe powered down, the exemplary steps may proceed to end step 811. Ininstances when the wireless device 150 is not to be powered down, theexemplary steps may proceed back to step 803 where the I and Q signalsare received via the leaky wave antenna.

In an embodiment of the invention, a method and system are disclosed forgenerating radio frequency (RF) in-phase and quadrature (I and 0)signals using a single leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C/600 coupled toone or more low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 703A/703B on a chip 162 andwithout a phase shifter. The RF I and Q signals may be communicated fromthe single leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C/600 using coplanar feedpoints 601A/601B. The RF I and Q signals may be communicated from thesingle leaky wave antenna 164A/164B/164C/600 using feed points 601C/601Don a top surface 201A and a bottom surface 201B of the single leaky waveantenna 164A/164B/164C/600. The one or more leaky wave antennas164A/164B/164C/600 may be integrated on the chip 162, on a package 167to which the chip 162 is affixed, and/or on a printed circuit board 171to which the chip 162 is affixed. The RF I and Q signals may beamplified by the one or more low-noise amplifiers 703A/703B and may bedown-converted the RF I and Q signals to baseband signals orintermediate frequency (IF) signals. The baseband signals may befiltered.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/orcomputer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, amachine code and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for receiving Iand Q RF signals without a phase shifter utilizing a leaky wave antenna.

Accordingly, aspects of the invention may be realized in hardware,software, firmware or a combination thereof. The invention may berealized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system or ina distributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware, software and firmware may bea general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, whenbeing loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that itcarries out the methods described herein.

One embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a boardlevel product, as a single chip, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), or with varying levels integrated on a single chip with otherportions of the system as separate components. The degree of integrationof the system will primarily be determined by speed and costconsiderations. Because of the sophisticated nature of modernprocessors, it is possible to utilize a commercially availableprocessor, which may be implemented external to an ASIC implementationof the present system. Alternatively, if the processor is available asan ASIC core or logic block, then the commercially available processormay be implemented as part of an ASIC device with various functionsimplemented as firmware.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext may mean, for example, any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form. However, other meanings of computer program within theunderstanding of those skilled in the art are also contemplated by thepresent invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiments disclosed, but that the present inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims,

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A communications system comprising: a circuitcoupled to a leaky wave antenna, wherein: said circuit is operable toreceive a radio frequency (RF) signal from said leaky wave antenna; saidcircuit is operable to generate, from said RF signal, using said leakywave antenna, and without using a phase shifter, an in-phase RF signaland a quadrature RF signal.
 22. The communications system of claim 21,wherein said circuit comprises a low-noise amplifier.
 23. Thecommunications system of claim 21, wherein said circuit comprises alow-noise amplifier and is integrated in a chip in said system.
 24. Thecommunications system of claim 21, wherein said circuit is operable tocommunicate said in-phase RF signal and said quadrature RF signal fromsaid leaky wave antenna using coplanar feed points.
 25. Thecommunications system of claim 21, wherein said circuit is operable tocommunicate said in-phase RF signal and said quadrature RF signal usingfeed points on a top surface and a bottom surface of said single leakywave antenna.
 26. The communications system of claim 23, wherein saidleaky wave antenna is integrated on said chip.
 27. The communicationssystem of claim 23, wherein said leaky wave antenna is integrated on apackage to which said chip is affixed.
 28. The communications system ofclaim 23, wherein said leaky wave antenna is integrated on a printedcircuit hoard to which said chip is affixed.
 29. The communicationssystem of claim 22, wherein said circuit is operable to amplify saidin-phase RF signal and said quadrature RF signal with said low-noiseamplifier.
 30. The communications system of claim 23, wherein saidcircuit is operable to amplify said in-phase RF signal and saidquadrature RF signal with said low-noise amplifier.
 31. Thecommunications system of claim 21, wherein said circuit is operable todown-convert said in-phase RF signal and said quadrature RF signal tobaseband signals.
 32. The communications system of claim 31, whereinsaid circuit is operable to filter said baseband signals.
 33. Thecommunications system of claim 21, wherein said circuit is operable todown-convert said in-phase RP signal and said quadrature RF signal tointermediate frequency (IF) signals.
 34. The communications system ofclaim 33, wherein said circuit is operable to filter said IF signals.35. The communications system of claim 21, wherein said communicationssystem is configured to interface with a wireless standard selected fromthe group consisting of GSM, CDMA, CDMA2000, WCDMA, GPRS, EDGE, WIMAX,BLUETOOTH, and ZIGBEE.
 36. A method for communication, said methodcomprising: in a wireless device receiving a radio frequency (RF) signalfrom a leaky wave antenna; generating, from said RF signal, using saidleaky wave antenna and without using a phase shifter, an in-phase RFsignal and a quadrature RF signal.
 37. The method of claim 36, whereinsaid wireless device comprises a low-noise amplifier.
 38. The method ofclaim 36, wherein said wireless device is operable to communicate saidin-phase RF signal and said quadrature RF signal from said leaky waveantenna using coplanar feed points.
 39. The method of claim 36, whereinsaid wireless device is operable to communicate said in-phase RF signaland said quadrature RF signal using feed points on a top surface and abottom surface of said single leaky wave antenna.
 40. The method ofclaim 36, wherein said leaky wave antenna is integrated within saidwireless device.